Sunday, May 23, 2010

On Friday, to kick off Book Expo America madness (and a week of near-constant meetings), I had a little dinner party for some of my favorite people in the YA book industry. In attendance: Jess Rothenberg, senior editor extraordinaire at Razorbill and author of the yet-to-be-released The Catastrophic History of You and Me; Leila Sales, editor at Viking and author of the hilarious forthcoming Mostly Good Girls (blurbed by yours truly); Emily Heddleson, school and library whiz at Penguin; Corey Haydu, brilliant up-and-coming literary writer; and my friend Lenore, famously of the fabulous blog Presenting Lenore, along with her husband Daniel, a children's illustrator.

On the menu?Home roasted tomatoesRoasted lemon-asparagusHomemade marinated mushroomsProsciuttoBurrata with Herbs

Ricotta crostini with cracked black pepper and honey

Crab salad with basil, grapefruit, and frisee

Arugula salad with caramelized onions and goat cheese

Fettucini with ricotta, mint, lemon, peas, and asparagus

Almond and pear tart

I wish you could have all been there! But you would not all have fitted in my apartment. :(

But you can check out the pics below and it will be ALMOST THE SAME--particularly if you find some cheese and eat it while you are looking at your computer. :)

Please note:1. The giant bookshelf crammed with books--a necessity in every well-kept house, I think!2. In the very bottom picture, despite all appearances, Daniel, Leila, and Corey are actually NOT having a miserable time. We were just all engaged in a very serious conversation about America's Next Top Model, and whether Miley Cyrus's new song "Can't Be Tamed" is on par with "Party in the USA." You know--we were hitting the hard topics.

Roasted tomatoes are SOOOO delicious. They're my new favorite thing. I bought two pints of cherry tomatoes and roasted them -- and ate them all myself. 2 pints. Better than 2 pints of ice cream, I guess...

WOW, that meal sounded very nice indeed! And that's not a huge bookshelf :P But I appreciate all bookshelves equally. Especially as I don't have enough of them and nearly broke my wrist tripping over 3 piles of books by my bed this week! :)